Invalid chair



Dec. 7, 1937. A, M, P RS N 1 2,101,290

INVALID CHAIR Filed Dec. 18, 1936 INVENTOR A/b er/a M. Piers on Patented Dec. 7, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INVALID 01mm. Alberta M. Pierson, Stockton, Calif. Application December 18, 1936, Serial No. 116,539

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to an invalid chair and in particular relates to an improvement in wheel chairs.

When moving an invalid from a bed to a common wheel chair, it is not only difiicult to place the invalid into the chair in a sitting position, but the wheel chair tends to roll in one direction or the other causing much inconvenience.

It is therefore the principal object of my invention to provide a wheel chair so constructed that when the chair is positioned beside a bed, it cannot be accidentally moved while an invalid is being transferred from the bed to the chair.

Another object of my invention is to provide an invalid chair, of the wheel chair type, which may be so adjusted alongside a bed that an invalid may be transferred from the bed to the chair while remaining in a reclining position.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawing similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved invalid chair adjusted in position to receive an invalid transferred from a bed;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the chair in such adjusted position.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 2-8 of Fig. 2; the back rest being raised and the leg rest lowered.

' Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawing, my improved invalid chair comprises a supporting frame having front and rear legs 1 and 2, respectively, and side frame members 3. A horizontal seat 4 is mounted on the frame with its front edge adjacent the front legs; the seat having rearwardly extending side supporting elements 5 which are mounted at their ends on the top of the rear legs 2. A leg rest 6 having a foot rest to on its lower end is hinged to the front edge of seat 4 for movement from ahorizontal position, as in Fig. 1, to a lowered position, as in Fig. 3; the adjacent edges of the seat and leg rest being beveled as shown to permit of such with the front legs I. Headed bolts 8 extend through the slots in the linksand through the legs I; hand nuts 9 being threaded on the outer ends of said bolts.

A back rest ill, of suitable configuration, is 5 hinged at its lower edge to the rear-edge of seat 4, for movement from a horizontal position between supporting members 5, as in Fig. 1, to a raised position, as in Fig. 3. Slotted quadrants H extend between the back rest and rear 10 legs and are arranged to maintain the back rest in any selected'position by means of bolts l2 and nuts IS in the samemanner that the links I hold the leg rest in any position.

A cross member ll extends transversely beneath the supporting members 5 adjacentthe rear legs and serves as a stop for the back rest, preventing the same from passing below a horizontal position when lowered. The front legs i are provided with non-swivel wheels l5, while the rear legs 2 have castor type, swivelly mounted wheels l6.

Arm rests l1 arenormally disposed above and alongside the seat 4, as shown in Fig. 3, the arm rests being formed at the ends with inwardly converging arms I8 which are pivoted, as at IS, on the front and back sides of the front and rear legs, respectively. These arms are pivoted at their ends on the legs at such point that the arm rests may be swung down from the normal position, as in Fig. 3, to a position engaging the floor beneath and clear of the wheels i5 and It, as in Fig. 1. A retractable pin 20 may be mounted in connection with the forward arms iii of each arm rest to engage in sockets 2| in the front legs when the arm rests are lowered, and in sockets 22 in the seat when the arm r ts are raised. A handle 23 is secured to each si e frame 3.

My improved invalid chair is used in the fol- 40 lowing manner:

When it is desired to transfer an invalid person from a bed to the chair, the back rest l0 and leg rest 6 are adjusted to a horizontal position; theseat, back rest, leg rest and elements 5 being then all in a common horizontal plane.- The chair is disposed alongside the bed and the arm rests are then swung down to a floor engaging position beneath wheels l5 and IS; the movement of the arm rests beneath the wheels being 5 accomplished by lifting the chair on one side and then the other with the aid of handles 23. Pins The invalid is then moved, while in reclining .:positin, from the bed to the chair, the back rest and leg rest being subsequently raised and lowered, respectively, to the extent desired.

The chair is then again lifted on one side and the other and the arm rests swung upward and returned to a normal position; the locking pins engaging insockets 22.

Of course, the seat and back rest may be suitably upholstered as occasion may demand.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantiallyfulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a de-' parture from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: l

1. In an invalid chair including supporting legs, a seat mounted on the legs, and wheels mounted on the lower ends of the legs; arm rests normally disposed to the sides of and above the seat, means mounting the arm rests for selective movement from said normal position to a floor engaging position below the plane of the bottom of the wheels, and retaining means to maintain the arm rests in either position selectively.

2. In an invalid chair including supporting legs, a seat mounted on the legs, and wheels attached to the lower ends of the legs; substantially horizontal arm rests normally disposed to the sides of and above the seat, means pivoting the arm rests for swinging movement from a normal position to a floor engaging position beneath the wheels, and means to lock the arms in a normal position or in a floor engaging position.

3. In an invalid chair including supporting legs, a seat mounted on the legs, and wheels attached to the lower ends of the legs; arm rests normally disposed to the sides of and above the seat, arms projecting from the ends of the arm rests, said arms being pivoted on the chair for swinging movement to turn the arm rests outwardly and down from their normal position to a floor engaging position below the plane of the bottom of the wheels, and means to lock the arms in a normal position or in a floor en-' gaging position.

4. A device as in claim 3 in which the wheels are relatively large in diameter and the arm rests are of a length greater than the distance between the outer edges of the wheels; the arms converging toward each other from the ends of the arm rests to pivotal connection with the adjacent legs.

ALBERTA M. PIERSON. 

